"I got a lot to say to you, yeah I got a lot to say" ~ CrushCrushCrush, Paramore
"You ready for your first real Hogwarts Quidditch game, Tay?" I ask as we head down to the Great Hall together, dressed in our Quidditch robes, ready for today's game.
"It should be great, depending on whether we can even keep up with the Slytherins." She replies honesty, holding up her Cleansweep Seven.
"We'll be fine." I say, barely convincing myself.
At 11 o'clock, Harry, Tay and I (along with the rest of our team) make our way down to the change rooms to prepare for the match.
"Time for the annual pre-match pep talk." I whisper in Tay's ear as Oliver gets up and stands in front of us all.
"Slytherin have better brooms that us," he begins bluntly, "no point denying it. But we've got better people on our brooms. We've trained harder than they have, we've been flying in all weathers-"
"Too true," George mutters, "I haven't been properly dry since August."
"-and we're going to make them rue the day they let that little bit of slime, Malfoy, buy his way onto their team." Wood says, his chest heaving with emotion.
He then turns to Harry and speaks again;
"It'll be down to you, Harry, to show them that a Seeker has to have something more than a rich father. Get to that Snitch before Malfoy or die trying, Harry, because we've got to win today, we've got to."
"So no pressure, Harry." Fred says, sending Harry a wink.
With that, the seven of us walk out into the pitch, a loud roar of noise greeting us.
Mostly, the noise is cheers from the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, but the Slytherin supporters are making sure that their boos are heard also.
Oliver and Flint shake hands at Madam Hooch's request and we take our positions.
Tay, Katie and I all share a nod, as I grip my broom tighter.
"On my whistle," Madam Hooch says, "three...two...one..."
All fourteen of us speed up into the air and the game begins.
Naturally, the Slytherin Chasers manage to take possession of the Quaffle, and they take off towards their goal posts, Tay, Katie and I speeding behind.
Flint manages to score, earning Slytherin ten points.
"Haylee! Watch out!" Tay suddenly screams, making me whip around to see a Bludger coming straight towards me.
I duck down, narrowly missing impact with the Bludger.
"Close one, Haylee!" Fred calls out, as he steaks past me to whack the Bludger back towards the Slytherins.
I continue on with the game, managing to take possession of the Quaffle.
I zoom towards the goal posts, the Slytherins literally right behind me.
I reach the goal posts and I raised the Quaffle, preparing to hurl to fowards.
But the Bludger returns.
It zooms towards me, barely missing a collision with my stomach.
This makes me fumble, and I drop the Quaffle, allowing Slytherin to take possession.
Before I can make a move to follow the Quaffle down the field, the Bludger changes directions and zooms back towards me again.
I drop down to avoid it, and Fred whacks it away yet again.
Once again, it changes directions and zooms towards me.
What is going on?
Very briefly, I see Harry and George experiencing the same problem with the other Bludger.
Fred hits the Bludger off course, and smiles to himself.
"That's done it!" He shouts happily.
But yet again, the Bludger shoots toward me again..as if it's attracted to me magnetically.
I fly in the opposite direction at full speed, trying to avoid the Bludger and rejoin the game.
To make matters even worse; it begins raining.
"Slytherin lead, sixty points to zero." I hear Lee Jordan say.
"Someone's - tampered - with - these - Bludgers -" Fred grunts, swinging his bat at the Bludger as it launches another attack at me.
"We need time out." I hear George say, as he tries to signal to Wood and stop the other Bludger from breaking Harry's nose.
I hear Madam Hooch's whistle, signalling time out, meaning that Wood got the message.
Harry, Fred, George and I dive for the ground, still avoiding the two Bludgers.
"What's going on?" Wood asks, as we all huddle together. "We're being flattened. Haylee, where were you when Taylor almost scored? She needed your help."
"I was twenty feet above, trying to avoid being murdered by a Bludger." I say angrily.
"Someone's fixed them - they won't leave Harry and Haylee alone, they haven't gone away all game. The Slytherins must have done something to them." George adds, also sounding angry.
"But the Bludgers have been locked in Madam Hooch's office since our last practise, and there was nothing wrong with them then..." Wood says, anxiously.
From the corner of my eye, I can see Madam Hooch striding towards us, and behind her I can see the Slytherin team laughing and pointing at us.
"Listen," Harry says, "with someone flying around me all the time the only way I'm going to catch the Snitch is if it flies up my sleeve. Both of you watch out for Haylee, and let me deal with my Bludger."
"Don't be thick," Fred says, "it'll take you read off."
"Oliver this is mad," Katie says angrily, "Harry and Haylee can't play like this. Lets ask for an enquiry."
"If we stop now, we'll have to forfeit the match!" Harry says. "And we're not losing to Slytherin just because of some mad Bludgers! Come on, Oliver, tell them to leave me alone!"
"This is all your fault," George says angrily to Oliver. "'Get the Snitch or die trying' - what a stupid thing to tell him!"
Madam Hooch reaches us and joins our circle.
"Ready to resume play?" She asks Oliver.
"Alright," he says. "Fred, George, you heard Harry - leave him alone and let him deal with the Bludger on his own. Both of you watch out for Haylee, make sure she has a chance to get the Quaffle."
The rain begins falling more heavily, and on Madam Hooch's whistle, the game resumes.
I kick up into the air, and I instantly hear the whoosh of a Bludger from behind me.
From the corner of my eyes, I see Fred and George with their bats raised high, ready to hit the Bludger away from me.
I follow after the Quaffle, Fred, George and the Bludger close behind me.
I manage to steal the Quaffle off of Adrian Pucey, and I flip sideways to avoid the Bludger.
George hits it in the opposite direction and I use this opportunity to try and score.
Not looking back, I begin flying towards the goal posts at full speed, swerving and diving every now and then to avoid the Bludger.
I reach the goal posts, and I look back for a spilt second to see the Bludger gaining on me.
I'm not going to have enough time to score and then dive away from the Bludger.
What's important, scoring or keeping myself safe?
Should I throw the Quaffle and get hit by the Bludger, or swerve away?
In a spilt second decision, I throw the Quaffle towards the goals and it flies straight through.
WHAM!
The Bludger smashes into my right hip, radiating pain all the way down my leg.
I let out a scream as the sound of gasps as shouting meets my ears.
I desperately try to keep myself on the broom, but slowly I can feel myself falling.
"Haylee!" I hear the Weasley twins cry out, as they flank either side of me to stop me from plummeting to the ground.
"Get her to the ground!" Someone else shouts, as we begin flying slowly towards the ground.
I slip in and out of consciousness as we near the ground, black spots clouding my vision and my leg throbbing.
We reach the wet, muddy ground and I feel myself being laid out on my back.
The cold rain falls on my face, blurring my vision even further. Faintly, I see Fred and George leaning over me, and even further up I can see flashes of red and green, meaning that the game is still going.
"That wasn't a smart decision." I mumble vaguely, before losing all consciousness.
*~*
My eyes flutter open at the sound of whistles and loud shouting.
At my side is Harry, also lying on his back.
In one of his hands is the Snitch, while the other arm is sitting at an unnatural angle.
Meaning that he also got hit by the Bludger, but he still won us the game.
At my other side, there is an obnoxious man leaning over me.
"Not you," I moan, "anyone but you."
"Doesn't know what she's talking about." Lockhart says loudly to the anxious crowd of Gryffindors pressed around us.
"Not to worry, Haylee. I'm about to fix up your leg."
"There's nothing wrong with my leg. Everything's fine." I mumble, trying to sit up, but the pain stops me.
A familiar clicking noise appears, and I groan again.
"Piss off, Colin." I mutter inaudibly, so luckily, no one hears me.
"Lie back, Haylee," Lockhart says soothingly. "It's a simple charm. I've used it countless times."
"Why can't I just go to the Hospital Wing?" I ask through clenched teeth.
"She really should, Professor. Harry too," Oliver says, completely covered in mud and with a broad smile on his face. "Great score Haylee, your best yet I'd say. And Harry, that catch was spectacular."
"Thanks Oliver." I hear Harry moan from beside me.
Through the thickets of legs surrounding me, I catch sight of Fred and George trying to wrestle the rogue bludgers back into a box.
"Stand back." Lockhart says, pulling up his jade-green sleeves.
"Please don't." I say weakly, but Lockhart twirls his wand and points it in the direction of my leg.
A strange and utterly unpleasant sensation appears in my leg; from my thigh all the way down to my toes.
I feels as if my leg is being deflated, and I clench my eyes shut, as the sound of people gasping and a camera clicking reappears.
The searing pain in my leg disappears, but my leg doesn't feel like a leg anymore.
"Ah," Lockhart says. "Yes. Well that can happen sometimes. Maybe we will have better luck with Harry's arm." He finishes, moving around to Harry's arm.
"No - don't -" I hear Harry plead weakly, but the sound of more gasping signals that Harry's arm has gone the same way as my leg.
"Ah. Well, the important thing is that the bones are no longer broken. That's the thing to bear in mind. So, Haylee, Harry, just toddle up to the Hospital Wing - ah, Mr Weasley, Miss Granger, Miss Saunters, would you escort them? - and Madam Pomfrey will be able to - er - tidy you two up a bit."
Harry gets to his feet, and Ron and Hermione try to pull me up from the ground.
But considering that Lockhart has removed the bones from my leg, I can't push myself up.
"This is no use." Ron sighs, as I see Fred and George walk over.
"Let me do it, Ron." George says, coming to my side. "Up you get, Hayles."
He places one hand on my back, and then scoops me up into his arms.
"George, you don't have-" I begin.
"Shut up and put your arms around my neck, Haylee." He smirks slightly.
I do as he said, and together with Harry, Ron, Mione and Tay we make our way to the Hospital Wing.
I use this opportunity to examine my leg.
I glance over to see what looks like thick, long rubber glove. My foot is hanging limply, the only thing stopping it from flopping down completely being my tight boots.
The sight of it makes me lightheaded, and I feel the need to pass out again.
I try to move my leg, but as expected, nothing happens.
We enter the Hospital Wing and George places me down on one of the beds, while the other explain the situation to Madam Pomfrey.
"Thanks, George." I say gratefully, keeping my gaze away from my limp leg.
"No problem, Hayles. I'll see you around when your leg heals up." He smiles, before turning to exit the room.
"You should have come straight to me!" Madam Pomfrey rages, holding up the sad, limp remainder of Harry's arm. "I can mend bones in a heartbeat - but growing them back-"
"You will be able to, won't you?" Harry asks desperately.
"I'll be able to, certainly, but it will be painful," Madam Pomfrey says grimly, throwing Harry and I each a pair of pyjamas. "You'll have to stay the night."
Harry and Ron go behind the curtain drawn around Harry's bed (so Ron can help Harry change) while Mione and Tay help me to my feet, in order to help me change.
"How can you stick up for Lockhart now, Hermione, eh?" Ron calls through the curtain, while Mione tries to pull my limp, boneless leg into the plaid pyjama pants.
"Anyone can make a mistake," she says. "And it doesn't hurt anymore, does it, Haylee, Harry?"
"No." I admit, as Tay and Hermione help me back up onto the bed.
"But they don't do much anymore, either." Harry adds, swinging himself onto his bed, his arm flapping wildly.
Madam Pomfrey comes towards us with a large bottle of something labelled 'Skelo-Gro'.
"You two are in for a rough night," she says, pouring out two steaming beakerfuls and handing them to us. "Regrowing bones is a nasty business."
With that, Harry and I both take a swig of the Skelo-Gro.
It burns my mouth and throat as I swallow, making both of us cough and splutter.
Still cursing about dangerous sports and inept teachers, Madam Pomfrey retreats, leaving Harry and I to gulp down some water.
"We won, though," Tay says, a grin creeping across her tanned face. "That score was brilliant, Haylee! And that was some catch you made, Harry. Malfoy's face...he looked ready to kill!"
"I want to know how he fixed that Bludger." Hermione says darkly.
"We can add that to the list of questions to ask him when we've taken the Polyjuice Potion," I say, sinking back into my pillows. "I hope it tastes better than this stuff..."
"If it's got bits of Slytherin in it? You've got to be joking." Ron says.
The door of the hospital wing bursts open, and the filthy and soaking wet remainder of the Gryffindor team enter.
"Unbelievable flying you two," George praises. "I've just seen Marcus Flint yelling at Malfoy. Something about having the Snitch on top of his head and not noticing. Malfoy didn't seem too happy."
They have brought cakes, sweets and bottles of pumpkin juice along with them, and they all gather around our beds (which they have pushed together) to start a celebration.
Madam Pomfrey suddenly bursts in and begins shouting angrily;
"They need to rest, they have dozens of bones to regrow! Out! OUT!"
They all reluctantly leave, and Harry and I are left with nothing but each other to distract us from the stabbing pain in our limbs.
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This chapter is pretty long whoa 😅
So this is the THIRD update for today!
I've just felt bad for not updating in ages and I really want to get through these first few books as quickly as possible :)
Please, please comment your opinions on this chapter because it means the world to me.
The next chapter should be up either tomorrow or on the weekend, so I'll see you guys soon.
Also, sorry to anyone who might have seen the problems I had posting the last two chapters 😁